Khichan - The Demoiselle Cranes

Back to the Rajasthan trip ( the shift to Hyd shifted me out of that space :)

This was a chance add on to our drive back from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. When we left I called Harshitha to update her on when we'd reach and stuff. And she's like, ask the driver which route he's taking, and if he can drive you past Khichan.

And we did....and we were just so so glad we did 

Khichan is a little village between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, which is known for the large number of demoiselle cranes that visit it every winter. The cranes are a migratory bird that come from Central Eurasia and Northeast China.

We were surprised to find that it was just a really small little lake.

Apparently the birds started visiting in the 1970's when a few hundred birds came by and a couple in the village started feeding them along with sparrows and pigeons. As the numbers grew other villagers joined in, and today even passing trucks donate sacks of grain to the village for the cranes.

The number of birds visiting is now in the thousands,and  thanks to the organized feeding by the villagers the number of birds visiting are said to be increasing each year. The consumption of grain is now estimated at 5000 kgs per day.

This little girl told us that there were four to five such taalaabs in the village which the birds frequent.

Dhruva did a short video clip in which you can also hear the chatter of the birds

If you ever go to Rajasthan, I'd strongly recommend you add Khichan into itinerary....it is such a beautiful connect into a raw and natural wonder of nature.